It's been quite a test of endurance for Swift Current Broncos goaltender Joel Hofer.

After stopping 53 shots in a win against Brandon on Saturday, he and the Broncos spent 23 hours on a bus to Langley before giving up 71 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Vancouver Giants on Tuesday.

In all Hofer stopped 118 of the 126 shots he has faced in the last two Swift Current games.

"He gave us every chance to get back in that hockey game," said Broncos assistant coach Scott Dutertre. "I can't say enough for (Hofer) he was unbelievable tonight. Not just the standard saves he made some big saves for us to keep us alive in the game. Unfortunately we didn't respond. We owe him a little bit better."

Despite a significant shot and territorial advantage for the Giants from the drop of the puck, Hofer kept the Broncos within striking distances with a 2-0 deficit after the first period and 3-1 after the second. Early in the third period Max Patterson had a very good, point-blank chance that David Tendeck turned aside which could have changed the game thanks to Hofer's earlier efforts.

Eventually Vancouver was able to pull away with three goals in the third period.

"It was a combination of a couple different things," Dutertre said. "Probably a little bit of bus legs and travel, but at the same time that shouldn't be an excuse. We came in here and had a couple of sessions on the ice just to be prepared. We talked about that getting over the bus legs, putting in good workouts and making sure we were ready to go. I just don't think we were ready to go tonight."

Swift Current had trouble escaping their zone all night against a quick Giants team. That led to long shifts and some tired players who got in chase mode.

"We talk about process and we have to work smarter in the zone not harder," Dutertre noted. "We get overextended and we run around. We need to be on the proper side of the puck all the time. For us we have to have everybody doing that. The nights we don't it doesn't go well for us."

Despite the frustrating result for the Broncos they did have some positives to discuss after the game. Veteran Tanner Nagel scored his first goal of the season on a beautiful drive to the net from the right wing with a dynamic finish on his backhand. They also were able to celebrate 16-year-old Ben King's first WHL goal as he deflected in a nice pass from rookie defenceman Christian Riemer late in the third period

"For our kids we've been talking about trying to get secondary pucks to the net or having active sticks around the net and getting puck touches around the slot area," Dutertre said. "That was a prime example with (Ben King) being in a good spot and getting a stick in an area where all he has to do is make contact with the puck. We want teaching points and lessons from these games. That's a great teaching point for our kids. The other thing we've always been working on with our kids is driving the net and (Nagel's) goal is a perfect example of that."

The 1-8-0-0 Broncos go right back to work on Wednesday night against another top BC Division team in Victoria.

"We need to learn what it's like to be resilient, come back and be ready to go," Dutertre noted. "This is a good test for us."

Swift Current may have to do that without veterans Matthrew Stanley and Alec Zawatsky. They were both assessed major penalties in the third period on back-to-back shifts. Stanley's was for a one-man fight with Giants forward Milos Roman, while Zawatsky received a major for cross checking on Giants defenceman Bowen Byram.

Byram was the first star on the night scoring twice and adding an assist for the first-place Giants.

You can hear Swift Current's game in Victoria again live on Magic 97 with Robertson Family Group Broncos Hockey at 7:30pm. The games are on Magic 97 while The Eagle 94.1 completes a contractual obligation to playoff baseball.